Barcelona official provides possible dates for the return to the Camp Nou | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are simultaneously working on several projects at the same time. The Catalan club, despite all of their financial issues, remain a top side and they must prepare ahead of time accordingly. Fortunately for Barcelona, a key ongoing project of theirs is progressing at a good pace.

That particular project would be the one involving the new Spotify Camp Nou. Having been in development since quite some time, it is now believed that the eventual return to their home stadium will come sooner rather than later for FC Barcelona.

However, there has been a lot of debate and many conflicting reports have emerged in regards to when exactly the Catalan giants would be returning to their true home stadium. Up until now, there was no official confirmation other than some optimistic projections.

Now, as highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, the institutional vice president of FC Barcelona, Elena Fort, has come forward to provide some clarity over the topic and has gone to give some possible dates that the club could consider when it comes to the return to the Camp Nou.

Ideally, she stated that the original goal of Barcelona remains to make it happen at some point this year:

“The club is working to return before the end of the year… (however) many factors could influence the exact day of return over the next few months.”

That particular date this year could come at some point in December, and the right game for that would be the one against Atletico Madrid on the 21st or 22nd of the month. While Fort provides assurance that the club is working to make this date a reality for the return to the stadium, there are some complications.

The most apparent complication would be the one that has to do with UEFA’s rulings. As per the Champions League’s rules, the clubs must finish the group phase of the competition in the same one they have started in. In that case, even if the Camp Nou is ready in 2025 rather than in 2024, the game at home against Atalanta could push some dates here and there.

Moreover, as per Fort, Barcelona plans on making the transfer to the Camp Nou permanently rather than operate two stadiums simultaneously:

“When we return to Camp Nou, we intend to stay there permanently.”

That is why the game between Barcelona and Valencia, just a few days before the Atalanta game, will likely have to be played at the Montjuic Stadium as well. With that in mind, the next possible date that could be ideal for the club would be at the beginning of February when the club will be hosting Deportivo Alaves for their second fixture of the season in La Liga after having just recently beat them.

Even the possibility of operating both stadiums simultaneously for a short period of time in 2025 can not be ruled out completely, however. What makes that option a bit uncertain though is the fact that it would pose a lot of logistical and operational problems for the club to deal with.